


Rewrite the Stars

by sagely_sea



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Canon Rewrite, Everyone deserves better, F/M, Fix-It, Keith and Shiro actually talk, M/M, Missing Scene, Season/Series 08, Shiro isn't cardboard
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-15
Updated: 2018-12-18
Packaged: 2019-09-18 14:58:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16997178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sagely_sea/pseuds/sagely_sea
Summary: A reimagining of Season 8  exploring scenes that didn’t appear on the show and reworking some that did.This is Keith and Shiro focused since I think their characterization and plotlines got sidelined horribly in S8. But it will likely touch on all other characters and storylines as I continue on. Tags will be updated to reflect current chapters.





	1. Pre-Episode One

**Author's Note:**

> I know I have other stories on the go. But after watching S8 I just had to try and fix some things when it came to some strangeness of characterization and odd plot choices. I won't say that my interpretation of things is the only or best way. But it makes me feel better than the show's choices.

“Iverson said you’d be here,” Keith said quietly as he walked up to stand beside Shiro. It still felt weird being back at the Garrison and in a Garrison uniform again. At first he was focused on the Galra attacking and then on recovering. But now that things were returning to normal, he had time to focus on how strange it was to be back and in a chain of command longer than Shiro and the paladins or Kolivan and the blades. 

Still, it was good for the other paladins to have a chance to regroup with their families and the Garrison was offering more support than being adversarial so Keith was grateful for them. And Shiro seemed to be flourishing in his new and prestigious role of leading the Atlas. 

Or mostly flourishing. Keith hadn’t had a lot of time to catch up with Shiro lately and when he did, Shiro was inevitably busy, or missing from his room. But today, Keith decided he was going to take advantage of the day off and find Shiro. Even if that meant asking Iverson if he’d seen Shiro around. He almost hadn’t done it. But if he was willing to fight an evil empire and search the universe for the man, he could surely ask one superior officer if he’d seen him around. 

He was glad he did. Because apparently Shiro hanging around the memorial was not that uncommon. And if it was something that gave Shiro a quiet moment of quiet and peaceful reflection than Keith would have let it slide. But one look at the tension in Shiro’s shoulders told Keith just how little good these visits were doing Shiro. 

Shiro didn’t look away from the wall of names but gave a small nod acknowledging Keith’s presence. And that was enough of an opening to know that his presence was not unwelcome. 

“They’re not your fault, Shiro. He’s not your fault.” 

“It doesn’t feel that way,” Shiro said finally looking at Keith. 

“It never does. But dwelling on it won’t change things or help you.” Keith walked closer to the wall and found Adam’s name plate. He gently touched his fingers to it. Because he was Shiro’s boyfriend, he had had to put up with Keith tagging along behind Shiro half the time. And after Shiro left, Adam had done his best to keep an eye out for Keith. Even if Keith was unable to accept that kindness after news of the Kerberos mission broke out. 

“I thought you were visiting your father’s grave today,” Shiro said. 

“I did. My mother needed to see it… him. To say goodbye. She needed the closure. We needed the closure.” Keith looked over his shoulder at Shiro with a soft look. It had been hard going to visit his father after learning so much about him in the quantum abyss and about himself. But it had to have been even harder for his mother. He had left Krolia alone for a time so she could have privacy and when she had returned to where he and Axca had been waiting, she seemed to have a new resolve to her. 

He had a feeling that visiting this wall didn’t give Shiro the same type of resolve.

“Did she find it?” Shiro asked. 

“I think she did,” Keith said. He had learned a lot about his mother during the two years on the back of a space whale and by sharing memories but Krolia was still very much a Blade of Marmora and good at keeping her secrets. 

“She doesn’t have regrets? Doesn’t wonder what might have happened if she had stayed?”

“I’m sure she does. But she knows she can’t change the past and that dwelling on it won’t help the future. Just like it won’t help you.” 

Shiro was silent, obviously lost to his thoughts and probably his regrets so Keith looked back at the wall until his hand found another name. “He was happy. He dated a little after you left. Nothing serious. But I heard from some others that he was starting to get serious with this new flight instructor. He must have a type for pilots and teachers. But the gossip was he was thinking of asking her to move in. Maybe get engaged. I bet they would have named their first kid after you,” Keith said, teasing a little as his hand brushed over Adam’s girlfriend’s name. 

“Really?” Shiro asked. 

Keith wasn’t sure what part he was asking about but he nodded. It was all true after all. “Well… maybe not the name thing. That would be weird, wouldn’t it?” Keith asked. Not that he knew that much about dating etiquette but he was pretty sure naming your kid after your presumed dead ex was a faux pas. 

Shiro gave a soft laugh at that and walked up beside Keith to see the name his fingers were lingering on. “I knew her. She was a couple years younger than us. But a good pilot and always had time to help others,” Shiro said. “I can see why Adam would like her.” 

Keith watched as Shiro’s eyes turned thoughtful and the furrow of his brow returned. “So it’s not thoughts of reconciliation that makes you keep coming back?” 

“No. I’ll always care for him but I don’t think we could have ever dated again. Too much had happened for that.” 

Keith nodded. He didn’t need Shiro to explain how their breakup had went or how time as the Champion had forever changed Shiro in ways that very few could understand or handle. “Then why?” 

“I can’t help but wonder what if. What if I had never gone on the Kerberos mission? Or what if Ulaz had never rescued me? Were all these lives lost because I was selfish?”

Keith snorted at that. “You’re one of the least selfish people I know. And if you want to know what all the different outcomes to those questions could be, you could always ask Slav,” Keith said. 

Shiro made a face at that and Keith gave a small laugh. Shiro had so much kindness and compassion in him but Slav seemed to be the exception. In non-lethal situations, Keith enjoyed watching Shiro and Slav have a conversation and Shiro’s eyebrow twitch more and more with each ridiculous thing Slav said. 

“Or I could tell you.” He turned and leaned back against the wall, sure that those who died serving in the Garrison and protecting the Earth would forgive him since he was working on talking sense into Shiro. “I think if you had stayed and the mission didn’t happen, this wall wouldn’t exist at all.” 

Shiro seemed to shrink in defeat at those words but Keith wasn’t done. Not at all. “Because the Galra would have continued exploring our solar system. And it wouldn’t have been hard for them to find Earth. And then traces of the Blue Lion. We wouldn’t know what to expect or have any way to defend ourselves. We’d have no wall, because nobody would be alive here to make one. And if anyone was alive, we’d be working in those slave camps or being carted back to the empire for the arena.” 

Shiro shuddered at the picture Keith painted with his words and Keith hoped that meant they were getting through to him. “And if the mission did happen but you weren’t on it than your disease would progress as expected. And I bet as your health declined, you’d have regrets about not going on that mission. It would eat away at you and then your relationship and you and Adam would either be miserable or breaking up. And then the Galra would still probably find Earth and we’re no better off than scenario one.”

Shiro let out a sigh. “You don’t have a lot of optimism do you,” Shiro said. 

Keith shrugged. Life had taught him that optimism just got you hurt. But he was learning to have a bit more optimism when it came to people and what to expect from them. At least if they had earned it. “Does that mean you don’t want to hear my other scenarios?” 

“Are any of them better than the first two?” 

“Not really. Because I think in the end I would have found the Blue Lion and I don’t know if it would have responded to me or if Pidge, Hunk, and Lance would have always been drawn there, too. But it was always the Lion’s and my destiny to leave here.” With the news of the Kerberos mission failing due to pilot error, Keith had always felt drawn to getting into space and finding out what really happened. He needed to know what happened to Shiro and perhaps, his blood was also telling him that Earth wasn’t his only home. 

“I think you’re right on that. And with the Galra expanding as they were, it was only a matter of time before Earth was in their sights,” Shiro said. He reached out and laid a hand on Keith’s shoulder. “Thank you, Keith. I think I needed to hear that.” 

“Anytime, Shiro.” They shared a moment of comfortable silence before the PA system’s chime went signalling an announcement. 

“Captain Shirogane, your presence is requested in the main meeting room. Captain Shirogane, your presence is requested in the main meeting room.” The PA chimed again and went silent. 

“I guess I better go.” 

“Go be amazing,” Keith said and then forced a small smile as Shiro turned and headed out. 

Keith lingered a moment longer, turning back to look at the wall and really take in the names there. So many he knew but he couldn’t remember ever finding any of them worthy of his time or effort. Or rather, he didn’t think they’d find him worthy of their time. But they had all thought the Earth and its citizens were worthy of their sacrifice and that was enough to make Keith regret never getting to know them better. 

He’d do better with the crew of the Atlas. Every life was important in this fight and he’d make sure to limit the amount of new names that would be added here. And if any were, he’d make sure he knew more than just their name and face and a vague feeling of having met them once or twice. 

With one last look at Adam’s name, Keith said a silent farewell and left. His future was waiting for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *For this interpretation of Adam, I've decided that he was bisexual. 
> 
> Up next is S801. The paladins have some time to themselves before they return to space. What will they do? 
> 
> I wanted to start there but this scene came into my head and I felt it was a nice missing link from the end of last season. Keith understands personal demons but he'd never let Shiro be dragged down by them for too long.


	2. Launch Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the day before launch and Shiro has given everyone the day off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's not my intention to rewrite every moment in the series. So if I skipped certain scenes it's because I thought they were fine as they were or because I thought changes I made in previous scenes would be understood to make certain changes in the following ones.

_“So I’m ordering you... to take your time for yourselves. Be with the ones you love. You’ve earned it.”_

Those words were still echoing in Keith’s head as everyone started leaving the overcrowded briefing room. He lingered behind, partially because he wanted to talk to Shiro, but mostly because he could see that Hunk and Lance were up to something and he so didn’t want to get dragged into that. 

Shiro finished talking to Sam and then turned to look at the otherwise empty room and spotted that Keith was still sitting at the table. “What are you still doing here?”

“Avoiding whatever Lance and Hunk are up to,” Keith said. He could hear them in the hall still so it was best that they both loitered longer. 

Shiro gave a small laugh and leaned against the table. “Any idea what they’re up to? I thought they’d be taking the chance to spend their last night here with their families.” 

“I think Hunk is forcing Lance to ask Allura out. I’m staying out of it.” Keith found the idea of Lance dating Allura strange but he couldn’t find any reason to object to it. He sort of thought the idea of anyone wanting to date Lance was strange. 

“Really? Good for him. And for them, if she says yes. And I think she will. Lance has grown a lot since we first found the Blue Lion. I’m sure Allura has seen that.” 

Keith nodded. He supposed he could agree that Lance wasn’t nearly as annoying as he was when they first rescued Shiro together. His skills as a pilot and fighter had both grown to a level where Keith couldn’t complain about them. Though he still did. It wouldn’t do for Lance to get lazy about his training. 

“Are you spending the rest of the day with your mother?” Shiro asked. 

“No. Kolivan and Krolia said they have some things to go over for the Blades of Marmora before we leave. They said they didn’t need my help when I asked,” Keith frowned a bit at that. It’s not like he had anything else to do with his time and it was weird that they didn’t even want to tell him what they were doing. 

Shiro gave a small chuckle and Keith frowned a bit further. “Maybe they’re going on a date,” Shiro said. 

Keith startled at that and then crossed his arms and huffed. He was going to leave that idea alone. Krolia being his mother still felt so new despite their time in the quantum abyss and Kolivan… well he’d become something of an authority figure in his life but Keith wasn’t sure he could see him as a father figure. And now he was imagining him and his mother together and doing things and ugh… 

Shiro laughed again and reached over to ruffle his hair like he was still the little bratty orphan kid who needed the attention. “Try not to think about it too much. I could be wrong.”

“If you’re not, I’m dragging you to their wedding… Do Galra have weddings?” There was still so much about his Galra heritage he didn’t know. And it wasn’t like he could ask Kolivan or Krolia about it now. It might put ideas into their head. 

“I have no idea. But if they’d do, I’d be honoured to go.” 

“Fine… So...what are you doing tonight?”

“I’m going to oversee a few more diagnostic checks and run through the launch sequences for tomorrow one more time,” Shiro said. 

“I thought we were supposed to enjoy our last night.”

“Someone needs to do the final checks.” Shiro crossed his arms. A clearly defensive move that Keith rarely saw in their private moments like this. 

Shiro was serious about his duties and knew Keith would respect that even if he also knew Shiro should take more breaks before they get up into space. So it wasn’t the worry about being criticized that was putting him on the defensive. And Keith rather thought they’d moved past the wall of names of their fellow Garrison soldiers. So that really left only one option. 

“Did you find out what happened to your grandfather?” Keith asked quietly.

Certain areas had been more heavily targeted than others by the Galra and Japan had taken the brunt of their forces in that region. It had taken a long time to rebuild enough infrastructure in Tokyo to get supplies moving and communications running. But the Garrison branch in Japan was fully functional again and acting as a de facto government until more could be rebuilt. Part of the Garrison’s mission was to process all of the civilians and make sure their needs were met. 

It was slow going. Not only because of the devastation to the infrastructure but because many people had fled into the mountains and it was hard tracking them down and spreading the news that Earth was liberated and safe was slow going. 

Shiro let out a long breath and looked away toward the dark screen. Keith wondered what he was seeing in it, was it memories of his grandfather, the moving stars of space, or something darker. But he didn’t ask. Instead, he just waited. 

“His neighbours checked in at the Garrison there. They saw the broadcast with the speech I gave. So they asked the Garrison officers to pass along the information. Everyone had thought I’d died. Including my grandfather…. He passed away not long after he got the news.”

Keith didn’t know what to say to that. And he wasn’t sure if any words would help. He knew nothing anyone had said to him had mattered after hearing about his father’s death. So instead, he just stood up and moved closer to Shiro and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. 

“He was old. I know he wasn’t going to live forever. But it feels like I caused his death anyway… he was so proud when I was selected to go on the Kerberos mission.”

“It was a chance of a lifetime,” Keith said.

“I know. And I don’t need your optimistic scenarios on what may have happened if I didn’t go,” Shiro’s voice held a hint of the dry teasing tone and Keith smiled at it. 

“Are you sure? I can think up some suitably optimistic ones.” 

“Not a chance. Maybe I’ll switch up the rooming assignments and you can share with Slav. You can spend your evenings comparing alternate reality ideas.” 

“You’re not that cruel,” Keith said. 

“You’re right. But it’s sort of fun to imagine.” 

There was a chime from Shiro’s datapad and he picked it up to look at it. “They’re going to start the final diagnostics soon. I should head over.”

“Okay. I told Axca I would train with her. But after… I was thinking of taking Black and my wolf somewhere quiet to just relax...” It was a little sentimental but he lost count of the number of sunsets and sunrises he had watched taking place over the horizon of the desert. And just how beautiful the stars could be from Earth. He didn’t know when he’d be back to Earth… or if he ever would be. And he wanted to enjoy one last moment of the sky and the amazing way nature was coloured at sunset and into the night. Imprint it all in his memory and hope to never forget it. “You could come by if you want. Skip the final launch sequence practice that you already have memorized.”

Shiro was quiet for a moment and Keith thought he might say no. That the Garrison training that Shiro seemed to wear like a second skin since he’d returned might be too hard to resist but finally he answered. “I just might do that. Send me the coordinates later or see if Kosmo might be willing to take me?” 

“That’s not his name,” Keith said. Though it was a losing battle as the name spread throughout the Garrison and more and more people used it. At least his wolf didn’t seem bothered by the name and even responded to it. But Keith was still convinced that he was smart enough and sentient enough to have his own name and that one day he’d find a way to tell him. 

“You can’t just keep calling him wolf, Keith. And he seems to like it well enough.”

“Fine… but if he changes his mind and tells me he doesn’t like it or what his real name is, then we’re changing it.” 

Shiro grinned and nodded. “Fair enough. I’ll see you later.” 

Keith gave a nod and then waited until Shiro was gone and that he really didn’t hear Lance, Hunk, or anyone else who might drag him into something stupid in the hall before leaving to change into his training clothes and to find Axca. 

 

-0-0-0-0-0-

Pidge’s mother was right when she had said that Pidge didn’t like clothes shopping. But it was a mall, there was going to be a ton of other cool things there to shop for. And it wouldn’t take that long to pick out one outfit for Allura, right? It’s not like Lance was hard to impress. 

As they all met at transport bay of the Garrison, Pidge looked at who was coming to help with the shopping adventure and decided that clothes shopping could easily be handled by the others if it started taking too long. 

“So, with central governments still not fully established and aliens opening up stores, what kind of currency are we using?” The space malls Pidge was used to these days used GAC but she couldn’t picture anyone on Earth wanting to accept Galra Authorized Currency and she didn’t know how much value other Earth currencies currently held. 

“It’s a barter system. The Galra Empire occupation has forced us to work together like we previously did in history and until central governments and with them, central banks can be reestablished, the traditional barter system is in place,” Ina said. 

“Ooookay,” Pidge drawled out. That was more information than she needed but she did always appreciate Leifsdottir’s pragmatic and fact-based way of looking at things. “So who has things to trade?” 

Everyone stared blankly at each other and it was then that Pidge realized that they were about to try to go shopping without any form of money… or in this case, things to barter with. 

“No problem. We can all go raid our rooms and uh… anywhere else we can think of. And we meet back here in twenty. It still gives us plenty of time to get Allura what she needs,” Rizavi said. 

She was far too enthusiastic about acquiring things to barter which made Pidge think that Rizavi wasn’t going to stick just to her own things. But that was fine with Pidge. She was going to raid her family’s home and maybe something from the engineers if she had time. 

“Okay. Twenty dobashes. Let’s go,” Romelle said before grabbing Allura’s hand and dashing back into the Garrison buildings. 

 

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Keith was heading back to his room, a sweaty and sore mess after his training session with Axca. She made a great training partner with her flexibility, speed, and willingness to fight dirty. Her dry and morbid sense of humour was a bonus in Keith’s eyes. He loved training with the Blades but they were always so serious. It was nice to have fun when training. 

He turned the last corner to his room and then froze in place. “What are you wearing?” He asked, choking out the words past the laugh that wanted to bubble up out of his throat. 

Lance was in the most ridiculous looking outfit he had ever seen. Was that a bucket on his head? And a ladle on his belt? 

“Coran made it for me?”

“What did you do to make Coran that angry at you?” Keith asked. Were those sausage links around his neck? Why did Coran dress Lance up like he was a storage shelf in the kitchens?

“He’s not. Apparently, Alteans have traditional courting attire. And since we don’t have access to any, he improvised.” 

“Courting attire?” 

“For my date with Allura,” Lance said. Though he looked so defeated as he said it instead of being happy and bragging like Keith expected. 

“She said yes? Well done Lance.”

“Thanks. But I’m worried our first date is going to be our last. I can’t keep all these Altean customs straight.” Lance sighed and took off his bucket helmet and then unwrapped the sausage necklace to place inside of the bucket. 

“Listen. If she’s going out with you. It’s because she likes you. The annoying, stupid, Earth version of you,” Keith said, a slight uptick to his mouth as he teased Lance. 

Surprisingly, instead of getting angry at the insults, Lance just laughed. “Thanks Mullet. I think I needed that.” 

“Anytime,” Keith said. He reached out and gave Lance a pat on the shoulder, which was more a pat on a pan that echoed like a strange gong. 

They both laughed at that. “Make sure you put all of that back before Hunk sees all his cookware is missing,” Keith said. 

“Ha ha,” Lance said. Though he did tug off the spatula and ladle from his belt to add to the bucket with a dull metallic thunk. “Hey, what are you doing tonight?” 

“Don’t worry about me, Lance. Go enjoy your date.” He waved Lance off and headed to his room to shower and change. He didn’t want to be late for one of the best shows the desert had to offer. 

-0-0-0-0-0-

Kosmo’s ears twitched and a moment later, Keith could hear the distant sound of a hoverbike making its way across the desert. He smiled and looked back but Black was blocking too much of the view. It was fine. He didn’t have to see to know just who was riding on that bike. Though it would have been fun to see if Shiro took any interesting shortcuts on his way to where Black was parked. 

He went back to watching the sunset, and it wasn’t long before the hatch on top of Black opened and Shiro stepped out. “Hunk’s family sends their love,” Shiro said setting down a basket of delicious smelling food between them. “Apparently in his family they show love by stuffing you full of food.” 

“I like that kind of love,” Keith said, reaching for a delicious looking pastry. 

“I can’t say I mind it either.” Shiro took a pastry, too as he settled in on Black. “Watching the sunset?”

“Yeah. It might be a while before we get to see it again,” Keith said. 

“That’s why we’ll be working hard to end this war. To protect this. And let everyone come back and enjoy things like this in peace,” Shiro said, his gaze fixed to the horizon. 

“And we’ll do it together. With Voltron and Atlas, the remaining Galra Empire doesn’t stand a chance.” 

“And neither does Haggar. We’ll find her and stop her. And hopefully, we can save the rest of the Alteans.” 

Keith nodded and looked over at Shiro before turning his attention back to the sunset. 

“This brings back memories…” Keith said after he’d finished a second baked good. 

“It does. You were a lot shorter than though.” 

“Yeah… well, I’m not the bratty kid you need to keep getting out of trouble.” 

“True. You’re all grown up now.” There was a pause and Keith turned to catch Shiro looking him over. He turned to pet his wolf so Shiro wouldn’t catch the heat rising to his face. “Not sure about the trouble part,” Shiro said. 

“Hey!” Keith protested, whipping his head back to look at Shiro. “You’re definitely more of a trouble magnet than me.” Not that Keith would ever think that Shiro was too much trouble. Keith would get him out of trouble as many times as it took. 

“I don’t know… that’s not what Kolivan was telling me…” 

Keith’s mouth fell open. “When did you two talk?!” And why was Kolivan telling stories? Weren’t they supposed to be classified or something. 

“The higher ranking officers had a party to celebrate getting everything prepared for leaving Earth. Kolivan was invited. It was a good night.” 

Keith was practically pouting at that. It’s not that he liked parties or being surrounded by all these officers who were used to scolding him. But it still would have been nice to have been invited. And then he never knew that Kolivan was such a gossip. 

“Of course, I reciprocated with stories of how we met and your early days at the Garrison.” 

“Shiro! Nooo!” No wonder Kolivan had been looking at him oddly the other day at breakfast. He bet it was after that night. 

Shiro laughed and Keith couldn’t help but join in even if he felt betrayed by Kolivan and Shiro sharing his most embarrassing moments. 

“We may have also said how impressed we are at how far you’ve come since then… even since your early days as a Blade,” Shiro finally said. 

Oh… well that was nicer. But it still made heat rise to his face. He was used to people complaining about him. It was still a bit odd to hear people complimenting him. Especially two people whose opinions he so highly valued. 

They slipped into a comfortable silence after that, both of them content to just enjoy the baked goods, the beautiful view, and each other’s company in silence while their thoughts drifted to just how far they’ve come from the other times they’ve done this and just what the future had in store for them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It bugs me that we never get to hear anything about Shiro's family. So I put in a small mention of his grandfather and the implication of that he was the only family who mattered to Shiro and was the one who raised him. 
> 
> Also, I didn't want to take away from Keith and Lance's growing friendship but I also felt it was out of place on the black lion. So I moved it back into the Garrison to give Lance time to get to his family's and to change and to give Keith a moment with Shiro. 
> 
> Next: Possibly a new uniform interlude since it would have been fun to see how they reacted to getting their own special uniforms and all they imply.


	3. Launch Date - New Uniforms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The paladins get their new uniforms and find out what it means.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just thought it was strange that we didn't get a reaction to their new uniforms or find out why they got new ones so suddenly. If they had started the series with their new uniforms I would have let it slide, but they just appeared overnight with no explanation.

“Paladins, report to briefing room C. Paladins, report to briefing room C.” 

Keith paused in his stretching as the call went out on the speakers. It didn’t sound like an emergency but it wouldn’t do to loiter either. He hastily changed out of his training clothes and tugged on his Garrison uniform. A quick check to make sure he didn’t look like he just rolled out of bed and Keith headed into the hall where he nearly ran into Hunk. 

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t want to be the last one. Did you see Lance? Maybe we should make sure he’s up,” Hunk said. 

Keith almost said it wasn’t his problem if Lance was sleeping and going to be late. But as the leader of Voltron it sort of was his problem. “You check on Lance. I’ll make sure Pidge and Allura are up.” 

He barely raised a hand to knock on Pidge’s door when it opened and she stepped out with a large yawn. “Do you know why we’re being paged?” 

“No idea.” Maybe they wanted to go over the speeches again? But that could have waited until after breakfast. 

“I wonder if there’s a problem with the storage hangar we’re supposed to use for the lions? Maybe the weight of them makes it too heavy for Atlas to launch. But all of the computerized tests showed it wouldn’t be a problem.” 

Pidge kept mumbling to herself about flight weights and take off algorithms which Keith tuned out as he knocked on Allura’s door. “Allura. We’re heading down.”

“Just a minute.” 

Keith shrugged and moved to lean back against the wall beside Allura’s door and looked over to where Lance’s door was. It was still open a crack and he could hear Hunk cajoling Lance to move faster and into his uniform. Apparently, it was a good thing they had checked in on him. 

Thankfully, it didn’t take Lance or Allura long to get ready and they were soon walking into briefing room C to find out just why they were being paged so early in the morning. 

“Paladins. Thank you for joining us. Sorry for the early morning call,” Shiro said pleasantly as they all filed in. He was standing at the front of the room with several high ranking officers seated at the far end of the table. Keith didn’t know them all by name but he knew a lot of them were staying behind on Earth to lead the Garrisons across the globe and help with the rebuilding efforts here. Iverson and Holt were also there and standing near Shiro was Veronica. 

A quick look at Lance confirmed that he was just as confused about why she was there and what was going on. 

“Take a seat. We have one last thing to discuss before we launch today and we thought it better to do it before the speeches,” Shiro said. He gestured to the five chairs closest to him. 

Keith took the seat closest to Shiro on his right and a questioning glance his way only got him an encouraging nod. Well, at least he probably wasn’t in trouble. 

“It’s come to our attention over the past few weeks that we’ve yet to define how Voltron and its pilots fit into the chain of command,” Iverson started once everyone was seated. 

Keith frowned. He knew that the Garrison had been letting them all get away with what they sort of wanted with the bare minimum of rules being followed but Keith had thought things had been working quite well like that. 

“We know that Allura and her fellow Alteans did not take part in Garrison training and that the rest of you were cadets with varying degrees of schooling under your belts. But we believe you should be given an official place in the chain of command and rules that you need to abide by at least when you are on Atlas.” 

Keith looked at the other paladins and while Allura was putting on her diplomatic face, the rest of them glumly nodded along. 

“Alright. So where in the chain of command are we going to be?” Keith asked. Not quite able to completely quell bad habits from what felt like a lifetime ago. 

“I think you’ll like this, Keith. We talked about it for a while and there was only one logical place to put Voltron,” Shiro said. He then turned to Veronica and nodded at her. 

That seemed to be a signal since she turned around and reached for a pile of boxes and with Shiro’s help, passed them out to all of the paladins, a sixth box sitting at the head of the table in front of Shiro. 

“While Voltron will be part of the Garrison, it will run outside but parallel to the Atlas chain of command,” Iverson said. “And to help everyone easily see this, we decided to get you some new uniforms.” 

Iverson nodded at the boxes and Shiro was the first one to open his up. He pulled out a uniform that looked rather like their current ones but was black at the top instead of orange. Curious, Keith opened his own box and smiled as he saw a red version. He pulled it out and held it up, admiring the details. 

“And Allura, I wasn’t sure if Alteans had a traditional mourning period or if you were ready to move past your mourning colours. So if you’d ever like a different colour, you just need to let me know,” Shiro said. 

“Thank you, Shiro. But I fear with the war still ongoing, there will still be more reasons for me to wear this colour than to give it up. But your consideration is appreciated,” Allura said. 

Shiro nodded and placed his own uniform jacket back into his box. “What do you guys think?” 

“These are awesome. But if you have a fancy new jacket, does that mean you’re at the head of our command again?” Lance asked. 

Keith looked over at Shiro and they shared a look. “We’ll be equals,” Keith said. 

They all looked toward the high ranking officers at the other side of the table but Iverson just gave a casual shrug. “We’ll leave it to you to sort out how you want things to work. We understand that the command structure in active combat isn’t always the same as it is in the day-to-day.” 

“Exactly. There will be times where I’ll have orders for Voltron and times where Voltron may have orders for Atlas. But mostly, we should be two branches of the same organization working together.” 

“Like how the different groups of the coalition work together to achieve the main objective but they also have their own missions, too,” Pidge said. 

“Yes. But don’t think it’s going to get you out of being grounded,” Sam Holt said from the far side of the table. Pidge groaned in protest to that news. 

Keith hid his smile in his hand. He was glad his mother was more of the watch his back on a potentially lethal mission sort of mother instead of the ground him for breaking rules type. He’d probably still be grounded from his early teen years if she was. And it wouldn’t have mattered if she was there for it or not. He suspected if Krolia wanted to lay down parental rules she’d be more than able to enforce them. 

Keith loved that his mother turned out to be so badass. Even if the whole alien race thing was a shock.

“Any questions?” Shiro asked to stop Pidge and Sam from their family bickering. 

Everyone shook their heads no and Keith did, too. 

“Good. Then go get changed, get some breakfast and I’ll see you all at 0900 to finish preparing for our send off speeches.” 

Keith refrained from groaning at the reminder that he had a speech coming up. But he had practiced it so many times that he was pretty sure Kosmo could recite it back to him. “Alright. See you then.” 

He picked up his box with his new uniforms in it and headed to the door with the rest of team Voltron on his heels all of them chatting merrily about their new uniforms, breakfast, and the upcoming launch. 

Maybe being back in the Garrison would work out okay in the end. He liked flying. He liked training and routine. He just didn’t like idiots or having to follow their orders. Being the head of Voltron and only having to listen to Shiro on occasion once they launched was something he could handle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I rewatched episode 2. It had flaws and it’s never really made clear just what brought Honerva out of her 10,000 year long amnesia spell and how she manages to remember everything that happened during it. And while some of her motivations/plans seem a bit vague/less than ideal, I think the episode is okay without any real fix-it elements. Though I’m not sure devoting the second episode fully to the villain is a good pacing choice.
> 
> And while Lotor’s childhood/past is sad/heartbreaking, it really helps to better define Lotor as a character and are some of the best-written scenes in series 8 character wise. 
> 
> So while I plan on writing a chapter for Shadows it will be shorter and offer the first change to the actual plot of the season.


	4. Shadows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A brief look at what the other side has been up to.

It had taken 10,000 years, losing her husband, and being denied by her son, but finally, she had broken away from the quintessence poisoning her. And before she could process all that she had done and all that had transpired over the centuries of her long life, she received news that Lotor was gone. Missing in action after a fight with Voltron. The annoying mechanical monstrosity of Alfor's was also missing but Honerva considered that a good thing. 

Voltron was the flag the rebellion rallied behind. With Voltron gone, her commanders could keep order in the universe as they searched for signs of Lotor, their emperor and her son.

She couldn’t make up for the lost years. But she was determined to fix what she could. She would play the role of Haggar and use all the resources available to her to track her son down and save him. Then, Lotor would see that she really was a caring mother and acknowledge her. 

She would make things right. 

 

-0-0-0-0-0-

The quintessence sustained him but it offered no relief, no comfort. All he had was his pain, his rage, and never-ending whiteness.

His body thrummed with power. He was so filled with quintessence that he felt ready to burst. As if his skin was stretched too far and too thinly and could split apart at any moment.

He wondered if that might help but was not so far consumed by rage as to turn it against his own body. No. He had the witch, his generals, Allura, and the whole of the Voltron coalition for that.

And if he could just quiet his rage and power for a moment he was sure he could focus long enough to devise a way out of this nothingness.

But the worrying thrum of power never faded and his rage only grew.

Time lost all meaning here. He didn’t know if it had been minutes, days, months, or even years.

But it didn’t matter. The quintessence sustained him. And eventually… No. Soon. Soon, Lotor would find a way to use it and escape.

-0-0-0-0-

There was a memory of looking through the clone's eyes as the mongrel brat spoke of Lotor's betrayal and that he couldn't be trusted. The Altean girl, the impossibility, described a safe haven for Alteans that Lotor had made and somehow kept safe and secret all these years. Lotor was their saviour. They worshipped him like a god and trusted him. They didn't know about the false colony. About the experiments.

Honerva could use them. They could help her find her son and get revenge. They would believe that Voltron was evil and had to be stopped. 

She would have to be careful to not overplay her hand but she was sure the colony would want what she did. Lotor returned safely and revenge upon those who had betrayed him. She would make sure that revenge seemed a better option than the Atlean way of peace and forgiveness. Some crimes, even Alteans could not forgive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A very short (and non-Voltron centric) chapter today. I just wanted to try and get into Haggar/Honerva's mindset a little more and briefly introduce one of my major changes in the series. Lotor is still physically whole and going to play more of an active role before the end.


End file.
